Don't Forget to Breathe

Surface

Sam burst from the water and took a large gulp of air, realizing now that she had been down there much longer then she thought, and her lungs were going to let her know they didn’t appreciate the abuse.

“Sammmmmmmmyyyyy!”

She turned her head towards the shore and saw Marie Carson, best friend incarnate, standing one of the larger boulders around the shore. Sam chuckled and shouted back.

“You know if you keep yelling like that the whole forest will hear you!”

Marie huffed and raised her golden brows, marring her tan forehead. “I wouldn’t have to yell if someone would stay above water for longer than five minutes” with slight irritation marring her voice “now get your ass back here so we can get going. John is having a bonfire tonight and I want to go.”

Sam sighed, knowing the only thing that beat her love for the water was Marie’s love of parties. Sam turned onto her back and lazily stroked her way back to where Marie stood. She stood and located her towel, giving her ginger locks quick rub down before throwing it into a bun.

 “Sammy?” Marie asked quizzically.

“Yeesss?” Sam drawled as she pulled on her worn tan capris over her now damp bikini bottoms.

“Why do you always go swimming by yourself? I know you won’t admit it but it’s dangerous,” Marie said, a look of concern replacing the playful one that had been there earlier.

Marie and Sam had been friends since middle school, after Marie had moved to the small town in the mountains. Her parents had a midlife crisis that caused them to uproot their family of 3 from comfortable suburbia to run a tourist attraction in the form of a bed and breakfast. Sam could relate on a level there as her parents owned and operated a guide company that took groups through the complex trail systems that marred the mountains. Sam had the comfort of being raised in the environment though, and Marie was a fish out of water comparatively. For whatever reason thought, Marie to a liking to Sam on the first day, making it a point to be Sam’s table mate and partner in crime. The irony was that Marie took better to mountain social life more than Sam ever had. Where Sam liked to hike and spend her time in solitude, Marie was helping plan every festival and going to every backyard roast out and bonfire that occurred. Sam sighed and pulled on her teal tank top. 

“Marie, I like the quiet, you know that.”

“Well, I know that…but you could enjoy quiet at home…reading or something” she said in earnest “there’s predators out here or you could get hurt Sammy, and I don’t want to you to become another statistic.” Marie was referring to the sinister side of the mountains that they inhabited. Yes, Jagged Peaks was a summer tourist attraction and a hub for outdoor activities, but it was also a disappearance mecca. Sam couldn’t count the number of hikers and tourists that had vanished while on vacation in their neck of the woods and she didn’t want to. 

Curling her face into grimace, Sam looked at Marie, “I know what I am doing ‘Rie, I am not some wannabe on vacation. I grew up in these mountains and I can handle myself just fine.” Sam didn’t like to think herself fragile, and didn’t appreciate the sentiment, even coming from her dear friend. She slipped on her sandals and sunglasses, picking her drawstring bag up off the ground and started to trek to Marie’s blue jeep I the parking area. 

“Come on “Rie, if we keep talking about what a damsel I am, YOU are going to make us late!” Sam taunted. The mood shifted back to the light and Marie skipped after, “Like anyone would believe that, I have impeccable timing!”